Friday, December 28, 2012

Operation Screwtape by Andrew Farley

Finally!
A book worthy of Screwtape
in the title!

In
the tradition of C. S. Lewis, Farley has crafted a book worthy of
being called the sequel to The
Screwtape Letters.

This
novel is a manual for training future deceivers from the realm below.
This fictional manual contains everything a demon needs to know to
keep Christians from living the life God has intended for them. Just
like The Screwtape Letters,
this book has a wealth of information for Christians regarding
spiritual growth and how we are kept from growing.

(For
those unfamiliar with Lewis' work, this book is written from a
demon's viewpoint, so the “Enemy” is Jesus or God.)

Jesus
said the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy and that is the
outline for this manual.

I
know of no other way to convey the excellence of this book than
quoting some passages.

“So
despite the fact that he who is in them is greater than all of us
combined, we still have one overwhelming advantage against the obtuse
half-wits: many simply do not know what it means to possess the Life.
They are not acquainted with the power and resources in them. Our
best strategy is to occlude the Life from them, so their minds do not
perceive his presence. This is effectively accomplished by means of
distraction.” (90-91)

“Many
of these stupid saints prefer to determine their spiritual condition
through the lens of their own natural senses, lending more authority
to them than to the Book itself, whenever the two appear to
contradict.” (99)

“Their
crucifixion with the One must go undetected. If many of them realize
it as a literal and actual death and rebirth at the core of their
being, it would be devastating to our cause.” (109)

“Grace.
We shudder at the dreadful word scattered throughout the Book. A
proper understanding of grace will render any patient nearly
impervious to even our finest strategies.” (128)

“There
is nothing more discouraging to us than a patient who serves the
Enemy joyfully, from the heart, free of guilt or any sense of
obligation.” (149)

This
is a great book! It is cleverly written and contains a wealth of
insight into the Christian life and how we are kept from being who
God wants us to be. Read it and discuss it with your friends.

Beware,
Farley steps on some toes. But those toes need to be stepped on as
they are on the feet of people who are doing exactly what the demons
suggest.

Andrew
Farley is lead pastor of Ecclesia, an evangelical church on the high
plains of West Texas. He is the best-selling author of several books.
He serves as faculty advisor for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
and frequently speaks at churches and university groups around the
United States and Canada. He is also a professor of applied
linguistics at Texas Tech University in West Texas, where he lives
with his wife and their son. Visit www.AndrewFarley.org
for more information and free resources.

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About Me

I am a retired Christian bookstore owner of 33 years. I still love books and read as many as I can, blogging my reviews. I have also taken up photography and sell photos of Whidbey Island and nearby landscapes.